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MorganRobinson,MaryaGarcia&GenevieCasino
MatthewPatrick
Humanities
20October2015

ChangemakerEssay:RondaRousey
Ronda Rousey might just be one of the most important people to change American
societys traditional ideals about women in sports in the year 2015. SheisaUFCchampionthat
ischanginggenderequalityinsportsasweknowthem.
Ronda Jean Rousey was born on February 1, 1987, in Riverside, California. She has a
unique past that has affected her life greatly. Ronda was born with her umbilical cord wrapped
around her neck, she nearly died fromalackofoxygenandsustainedslightbraindamagewhich
prevented her ability to speak an intelligible word until she was6yearsold.Atragedyfellupon
the family when Rondas dad, Ron, broke his back while sledding with his daughters. A blood
disorder prevented him from healing properly, and after learning he would beaimmobileinthe
fewyearshehadlefttolive,hecommittedsuicidewhenRouseywas8.
Rousey struggled in school, and was homeschooled for parts of elementary and high
school. Fortunately, she found an outlet for her frustration when her mother persuaded her to
learnjudo.
At 16, she dropped out of highschool, left her family, and moved to Boston to train and
compete in judo at the2004Olympics.Shewasthrivingandunraveling,andbeganbingeingand
purging to make weight. Rousey worked very hard to make weight in her next weighin. A

weighin is
be officially weighed before or after a boxing match.
The night before a weighin,
she wouldnt even drink water. Day of, she wouldnt shower wet hair could tip her over.
Hours before, shed wrap her body in plastic, layer on her workout gear, go running, weigh
herself,anddoitalloveragainifshehadntshedenough.
Shehadahardtimefindingherselfinthecomingyears.Hermotherrefusedtoletherlive
at home without a job. So, at 18, she went to live with a trainer who unjustly stole what little
money she had. After that experience, she found an older boyfriend who lived in his parents
basement,cheatedonherconstantly,andtoldherthat,physically,shewasaboutasix.
Unsure of what career to follow after turning 18, she continued to pursue martial arts.
Rousey was the first woman to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world's
largestmixedmartialartsleague.
You should know who Ronda Rousey is and what shes doingforgender equality.More
specifically, you need toknowhow shesblazingapreviouslyuncharteredpathdownthemiddle
ofAmericansocietystraditionalideasaboutwomeninsports.
In November of 2012, Rousey became the first female fighter to sign with the UFC.
Other promotions, like Strikeforce, had put on fights between womenbefore,buttheUFCisthe
Broadway of MMA. Her fight against Cat Zingano on February 28, 2015, also ended swiftly,
thanks to her signature move, the armbar. Rousey tackles her opponent to the ground, traps the
other woman's arm between her legs and bends it back at the elbow. Ifheropponentdoesn'ttap
out to signal defeat, the move could snap the arm. Zingano tapped out in just 14 seconds, the
fastestsubmissioninaUFCtitlefight,accordingtoMMAWeekly.

On that day, Rousey, a female, wasthemainattractioninasportpredominantlyattended

andviewedbymen.Letsbeclear:menwerentjustgatheredtowatchtheUFConanightwhere
Rousey
happened
tobefighting,menweregatheredbecausethey
wanted
towatchRouseyfight.
Then, on July 15, 2015, Rousey became the first athlete not named Mayweather or
Pacquiao to win the ESPY for Best Fighter sincethecategorywasintroducedin2007.Infact,
she not only won the Best Fighter award at the ESPYs, but she also won Best Female
Athlete. On the stage, she thanked her family, coaches, teammates and the other nominees for
being the change we want to see in theworld.Butmostofall,shewantedtothankhermother
whoputupwithsomuchformetogethere.
Rousey could easily become the most important person for gender equality in the year
2015. Shes not just challenging social norms regarding women insports,shesalsochallenging
social norms regarding females in general. In a world where societys traditional ideals have
women being beautiful, small, dainty, thin, and subordinate, Ronda Rousey stands beautiful,
broad,strong,talented,aggressive,andinsubordinate.
Ronda hasbeenboldlymakingthechangein thewaysocietyseeswomeninsports.Shes
also not afraid to call out critics, and does not do anything to hide words describing her
advantages over opponents, in and out of th
e ring. When shewasasked
whethershewouldever
fight champion boxer Floyd Mayweather
, her response was "unless we ended up dating," an
apparent reference to domesticviolenceaccusation againsthim.InJuly,whenshetookhomethe
Best Fighter ESPY award over Mayweather and others, she remarked, "I wonder how Floyd
feelsbeingbeatbyawomanforonce."

Ronda Rousey is a inspiration to women all over the word with her career and
achievements. Even though she has an undefeated career and plans to keep it thatway,thatfact
doesn't mean she willcontinuetofightallherlife.Herplanistofightupuntilher30s,shesays.
Im not going to be doing this in my 30s. I dont want to be fighting in my 30s. By 30s, I
mean like 31,32.Ifyoureactually30yearsoldthatis30,not30s.Onceyouaddtheone,thats
30s, plural Im 28. I dont know. I look at it exactly how weweretalkingaboutfighting,thats
how I do everything else. I dont look at these separate disjoined things. Im not going to go in
thereandtrythisthingsandtrythisthingandtrythisthingandtrythatthingandhopesomething
worksout.
Rondasretirementwouldnot onlybasedonherage,butalsoinjuriesshemightgetinthe
next years she continues to fight. Over her entire professional career, she hasnt gotten any
major injuries beside breaking her toes many times. It really shocked the doctor that she
continued to fight with the numbers of broken toesbutRondasaysthatPainisjust information
beingdeliveredtomybrainanditssupposedtobeuseful.
Not only has Rousey proved thatshehasahightoleranceforpainbutprovesherlovefor
the sport. She is clearly trying to do her bestwiththeyearsshehasleft,keepinghertitleandthe
name she has created forherselfassuchapositivechangetosocietyandgivingpowertowomen
all over. There is not a clear say on what Ronda has planned after she retires but possibly stay
connected to MMA. She could also continue to grow as an actor, such as her role starring in
Furious 7. Since she has been through many changes during her life, she may choose to do
something completely different. Either way, Ronda Rousey will always be a very important
personforoursociety.

WorksCited
Callahan, Maureen. "From Broke and Homeless to Fierce MMA Champ: Rousey's Story."
NYPost
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Bio.com
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"RondaRouseyQuotes."
BrainyQuote
.Xplore,n.d.Web.23Oct.2015.
Trevor D. Osborn. "RONDA ROUSEY CHANGING SOCIETYS TRADITIONAL IDEALS
ABOUTWOMENINSPORTS."
MMAWeekly
.N.p.,2Mar.2015.Web.
"Why Ronda Rousey IsSuchaBigDealCNN.com."
CNN
.CableNewsNetwork,n.d.Web.23
Oct.2015.
Jack O'Toole. "The Ronda Rousey Effect Has Transformed MMA."
The Roar
. Roar, 31 May
2015.Web.23Oct.2015.